S.Korean First Lady to serve Trumps traditional refreshments

Seoul, Nov 7 (IANS) South Korean First Lady Kim Jung-sook will serve homemade traditional refreshments to US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump during teatime after they arrive here on Tuesday.

President Moon Jae-in is scheduled to have tea with Trump right after their summit talks along with their wives, at Sanchunjae, a wooden traditional Korean house inside Cheong Wa Dae (presidential office), reports Yonhap News Agency.

The refreshments for the reception are reportedly chocolate-coated dried persimmons, called “gotgam” and herb tea, dubbed “Serene Morning of PyeongChang”.

PyeongChang is an hill station in South Korea and venue for the upcoming Winter Olympic Games.

To make gotgam, Kim personally picked the persimmons from trees inside Cheong Wa Dae weeks ago, and hung them to dry.

In Korea, gotgam, which requires more than a month to make, is traditionally used as a refreshment or as an ingredient in other foods.

Kim made “gotgam ssam” by stuffing walnuts into dried persimmons and then coating them with chocolate.

Meanwhile, the police have beefed up security at the US Embassy in Seoul, as well as on roads leading to the Cheong Wa Dae.

Iron fences were set up around Gwanghwamun Plaza across from the U.S. Embassy, and a larger number of police personnel were deployed around the mission, as some liberal civic groups have vowed to hold rallies opposing Trump’s visit at the plaza.

Officials said they will allow civic groups to hold lawful rallies inside the iron fences at the plaza, but plan to keep protests under control around the time Trump’s motorcade passes through the area.

On Wednesday, the US President is expected to deliver a speech to the South Korean Parliament before heading to China for the next leg of his trip.

He is also scheduled to stop at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summits in Vietnam and the Philippines, respectively.